VIOLENCE WARNING: There
is violence (come on it's the Conqueror). The nature of the story is not nearly
as dark as some Conqueror fiction, but it's essence is still the slave / master
relationship that exists between Xena & Gabrielle.

TIMELINE: My own making.
Xena is the Lord, Conqueror of Greece, but she is almost forty-five years
old when she meets the slave, Gabrielle. Many of Xena's evil ways have been
sedated, but not all. I call this Xena the "thinking woman's" Conqueror. She
is a woman who wants to try to do the right thing, but doesn't always know
how.

SEX: Yes, I'll have
some, thank you. Ooops! I mean, yes there is. It is our favorite two Soulmates,
after all. It's not gratuitous, but it is quite explicit when it gets going.
This story shows consensual as well as non-consenting love (master/slave),
sex and yes, even some light bdsm between two adult females.

HIGH ANGST WARNING: I
was threatened within an inch of my life if I didn't start putting this disclaimer
on some (all?) of my work. I will henceforth rate the angst content with sad
faces, one being the lowest and four being the highest. This story earns:
L L (2 sad faces for those without TT Fonts)

UNDERAGE WARNING: Hey,
the Supreme Court said in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
that laws against making available, online, certain "indecent" materials for
those under 18 was unconstitutional·look it up! Besides, this is perfectly
"decent." J

I only know how others feel
about my stories from feedback. Let me know what you think...homophobes need
not apply, however. I'm at: Devlin@xenafan.com

**Special thanks
to Jim Kuntz for his permission in using any Lion of Amphipolis references.

The Conqueror
Series

Tale One: Journey's
End

By LJ Maas

Chapter 7:
To See A World In A Grain Of Sand

"Good Morning, Gabrielle."
I addressed my young slave as she entered my bedchamber.

"Good Morning, My Lord," she
replied in that soft voice of hers.

I just finished dressing, pulling
my boots on when Gabrielle entered the room. She and I sat down to the wooden
table where I took my meals. Sylla already set the table with a variety of
fruits and baked breads, along with some thinly sliced, smoked fish. As usual,
Gabrielle sat at the table across from me with her head bowed and her hands
in her lap.

Taking our meals together was
always an adventure. It was obvious my young slave was denied food, somewhere
along the way, as a form of punishment. She seemed very accustomed to not
eating for long periods of time, then consuming all she could get her hands
on later, to carry her through. I occasionally watched her out of the corner
of my eye and I always seemed to catch her placing something in the pocket
of her skirt for later. I sighed to myself on this morning, as I watched her
slip and apple into that pocket. I could only bite my tongue and continually
reiterate the fact that her food hording was unnecessary.

When I rose from the table,
I crossed the room to where my sword lay, atop a chest at the foot of my bed.
I strapped it to my hip and felt an oddness to the gesture. Funny, but for
all these years that I have ruled and lived in this palace, I have worn one
sword, but it still feels strange not to have two swords at my waist, as I
do when in battle. I spent so many seasons as a warrior, two blades in my
hand, that it truly became a part of me.

I shook off the memory and
returned to the table. Gabrielle watched as I stopped and dropped to one knee
before her. My height was intimidating and I had no desire to press my superiority
over my slave. I took her hands in my own and enjoyed the smoothness against
my own skin.

"Gabrielle?" I paused and she
looked up, never completely looking me in the eye. I wasn't sure where to
start since I didn't want to frighten her. "Gabrielle, remember what I told
you about food in my home?"

"Yes, My Lord·forgive
me, I--"

"Ssh, it's all right, I'm not
angry." I reached into her skirt pocket and produced the apple she tucked
there. She guiltily lowered her eyes.

"I want you to try to remember
something·look at me, Gabrielle," I added gently. She raised her head
again and I realized I was growing accustomed to the way her eyes avoided
looking directly into mine.

"As long as I have food on
my table, little one, you will not go hungry." The term of endearment just
seemed to spill easily off my tongue and I made no attempt to get it back
as it seemed fitting for my small, lovely slave. "Gabrielle, have I lied to
you yet, since you have been in my service?"

"No, My Lord."

"And, I will not, especially
about this. Now," I returned the apple back to its hiding spot in her skirt.
"If you want this because you may grow hungry for a snack, or even if you
want to pay the stable a visit and treat Tenorio, that is fine. Only, never
fear that I will deny you food as punishment. Do you believe me?" I asked
at last, knowing it would be difficult for her to answer that.

"I--" She didn't know how to
answer truthfully. "I will try, My Lord."

"Then that is all we can ask,
is it not?" I smiled at her and although it was not something I usually did,
it seemed to ease her discomfort a small bit. I found that smiling in Gabrielle's
presence was becoming easier and wondered if it would ever feel so natural
that I wouldn't be aware I was doing it.

"I have business on the docks
today and wish to walk, Gabrielle. Do you wish to join me? It will give you
an opportunity to visit the city." I asked, rising from the floor.

"Yes, very much, My Lord."

*********************

We walked from
the palace, my slave and I, and I should have held no fear that Gabrielle
would find anyone here to trade affections with. The gossip spread like wildfire
and everyone in the palace already knew, not only who this small blonde was,
but also what she meant to me. No one even raised an eye to the girl, at least
while I was beside her, and certainly no one spoke to her. Hades, the people
of Corinth barely acknowledged me, with the exception of lowering their heads
and bowing in respectful submission.

It made me feel rather sorry
for Gabrielle, though, to think this was what her life had long consisted
of. As I overheard her tell Delia, a body slave lived a lonely life in her
master's household. She was cursed for the master's bad temper and even in
good times, no one took a chance at being caught speaking with her. Even in
friendship, a casual glance could ignite the jealousy of an angry and possessive
master, such as myself. I do not say, used to be, for when it comes
to Gabrielle, I fear I could fall back into those same fits of fierce suspicion
and controlling behavior that consumed me in my younger days.

I felt compelled to reassure
Gabrielle in some small way, to assure her that I would not be lopping her
head off if I saw her speaking to someone on the street. Did I really mean
that, however? I had not miraculously grown the heart of a mystic because
of my developing feelings toward my small slave. I was still at a loss as
to what to say to the woman, but there was a need in me, that was as
accurately as I could describe it. It was a need to express certain emotions
I was having concerning Gabrielle. I grew quickly frustrated as we walked
out of the palace gates. I wanted to say so much to her, but I was completely
unaware of how to say it. I wondered if Delia would laugh at my predicament
if I were to go to her for help. I wasn't completely inarticulate, however,
so I decided to wade right in.

"You·uh, you look very
nice today, Gabrielle·very lovely." I commented and caught the surprise
in her eyes.

It certainly wasn't a lie,
nor an exaggeration. Gabrielle, with golden hair falling across her slight
shoulders, and the early morning sun filtering through the strands of hair
blowing around her face. She looked absolutely beautiful. I didn't even realize
I stopped moving until Gabrielle's eyes lifted and briefly caught mine.

"Very lovely, indeed." I gently
tapped two fingers under her chin and was rewarded with something that was
damn close to being a smile. "Wait," I tilted my head to see into her eyes,
grinning myself. "Is that a smile I see·from my Gabrielle?" Which made
her sort-of smile grow. I couldn't help chuckling as I turned and we continued
on.

The palace guard followed in
our wake and Gods only know what they thought of our exchange. I remembered
a time when the guard walked out ahead of me, terrorizing anyone foolish enough
to stray into my oncoming path. Now I felt, rather than saw, their understated
presence.

Gabrielle seemed quite unaccustomed
to the people and bustle of a city like Corinth. I noticed that she began
to follow rather closely on my heels as we strolled along the city streets,
toward the docks. I had business today with the Captain of my fleet. According
to two of my closest advisors, the man was running slaves as one of his little
extracurricular activities. I wanted more than hearsay and gossip, and the
truth was, if this man was kidnapping young girls here in Corinth to sell
them in the North as slaves, I wanted to personally show him how I felt about
that.

As we walked by the prisoners
on their way to trial or judgment, many called out to me for mercy. I can
barely remember the time when I would stride past them, truly unable to hear
their cries for leniency. In the last few seasons, it grew especially hard
to ignore their pleas. Now, when I look into their faces, I am able to see
something that touches a part of me that has laid dormant for much of my life.

We passed by and I looked at
them, chained, or bound, waiting for my wagons to take them to the large palace
dungeons. A small boy, no more than eight or nine summers, stood watching
me rather impassively as I walked by. He looked also at Gabrielle and I saw
the light of compassion burn brightly in her intelligent emerald gaze. The
boy had his hands in front of him, his wrists fastened together with manacles
that were ludicrously large on his small hands. Yet, he stood there, calmly
accepting the fate he could easily have escaped from. I'd known assassins
that young, so it didn't completely surprise me, a boy that age, headed for
the prison.

We passed by and I easily caught
the movement of Gabrielle's hand as she slipped the apple from her pocket
and pressed it into the surprised boy's small grasp. At first, I was going
to shrug it off and ignore my slave's actions, but what Gabrielle just did
was so unlike her. For her to risk punishment, her reason for slipping the
boy food, an offense any way you looked at it, must mean a great deal to her.
I wanted, no I needed, to learn more about this world in which my slave existed.
Because of that, I stopped, and when I halted, Gabrielle did the same.

"Gabrielle?" I asked, not turning
to look at her, simply knowing she would be there.

"Yes, My Lord?" she replied
softly. I think she knew the moment I stopped that she was caught.

"What was that you just did,
Gabrielle?" I asked evenly.

"Please forgive me, My Lord,
I--" she began and I turned and placed two fingers over her lips to silence
her.

"Gabrielle, I haven't yet placed
blame or even accused you of anything. I only inquired about your actions."

She lowered her head. "I gave
the boy the apple I had in my pocket." She answered dutifully.

"I see. Why did you do that,
Gabrielle?"

"He·he looked as if he
was hungry, My Lord."

"Do you realize, little one,
that it is a crime to give prisoners anything, even food?"

"Yes, My Lord." She again answered
and I barely heard her response this time.

"So, knowing that you would
be punished, you gave the food to the boy anyway?" I asked.

When Gabrielle nodded and answered
with a soft affirmative reply, I questioned her as to why she would perform
such a sacrifice. Her answer made me feel completely oblivious to all that
went on around me, in my palace, in my city, in the whole of my country. It
was as if there was a grain of sand at my feet, and on it existed another
world, such as our own. Subsisting, right there at my feet, all this time.

"He is only a child, My Lord.
No child deserves to be hungry." She answered.

Anyone who ever thought Gabrielle
a stupid woman, evidently never spent any time with her at all. I found her
insights into the world to be profound, thought provoking, and tempered with
a compassion, I had to admit, I didn't fully understand. This last statement
was no exception.

I turned and walked back to
where the prisoners stood huddled together. I towered over the boy and when
I asked him his name, he looked up at me in terror. I was now about to learn
my second lesson of the day, when it came to how others perceived me. I felt
a hand on my forearm and turned to see my small slave waiting for permission
to speak. I arched an eyebrow at her and she understood my unspoken communication.
She leaned up on her tiptoes and I leaned down, closer to her. She spoke softly
into my ear.

"My Lord, I think·I think
maybe you are a great deal like your stallion, Tenorio." She hurried on when
I looked at her in complete confusion. "To people of a much smaller stature,
you can be somewhat·imposing, thereby·well, intimidating."

Always amazed at the young
woman, she was quickly becoming one of my best, and most trusted, advisors.
I took the hint and turned back to the boy, easing myself down to one knee
until my head was even with his.

"Do you have a name, boy?"
I asked again.

"P--Petra, Lord Conqueror."
The boy answered my question.

"Why do you wear the chains
of a prisoner, Petra?"

"I was caught stealing food,
Lord Conqueror."

"Food does seem to be the topic
today," I looked back at Gabrielle in amusement and she bowed her head. "So,
Petra·why does a boy your age need to steal food? Don't your mother and
father feed you well enough?"

"It wasn't for me, Lord Conqueror,
it was for my mother and two sisters. My father was a soldier in the Lord
Conqueror's army, but he was killed in the battle of Chaeronea. My mother
is sick and can't work, and my baby sisters need food to eat. I'm sorry, Lord
Conqueror," the boy said, valiantly holding back his tears. "I didn't know
what else to do. I tried to join the Lord Conqueror's army, to earn money
for food, but the soldiers laughed at me."

I tried to show no emotion
as the boy told his tale. It seemed so melodramatic I wasn't sure if I was
being set up or not. "Where do you live, boy?"

When the small boy pointed
back into the palace gates, I was taken back.

"You live within the walls
of the palace? Who is your mother a hired woman for?" I asked, and then proceeded
to look even more confused.

"Why·she works for you,
Lord Conqueror." He replied, looking at me as if I just told him sheep could
fly.

Now I was not only confused,
but angry too. With my country enjoying such prosperity, were there really
children within the very walls of my own palace, going hungry?

"Jailer!" I shouted and the
man was at my side in an instant. "Remove this boy's chains." I ordered.

Once free, I motioned to the
boy with my hand. "Show me where you live, boy." I said and suddenly we were
all following Petra back through the palace gates.

*********************

I knew the small
village style houses that existed in cramped rows at the south end of the
palace gates, were small and overcrowded. I was in no way, however, prepared
for the intolerable conditions when I entered the boy's home. It was obvious
that someone made the attempt to create a living space within the confines
of the small room. What few furnishings were there, had been scrubbed clean,
but the rats that ran within the walls, went from house to house, carrying
their filth and disease wherever they went.

I felt precariously out of
my element, standing in the middle of the small room. My height was a definite
hazard as my head nearly grazed the ceiling. Petra led me to a small pallet
where a slender woman lay, in obvious pain and fever. I kneeled down to look
at the woman, and although she probably only had a touch of the chills, it
could be fatal without proper care and nutrition. I fancied myself rather
knowledgeable when it came to healing, but that was a great many seasons ago.
I became more adept at treating battle wounds than illness, so I did the only
I could think to do, when feeling this helpless. I called on Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle?" I turned, and
it seemed that the helpless tone of my voice and the look in my eye, conveyed
all that my young slave needed to know.

Spurred into action, Gabrielle
gave Petra instructions to fetch a pail of fresh drinking water, not from
the well the other houses used, but from the one nearer the gates. By the
time the boy rushed back, I merely stood in the corner and watched as Gabrielle
requested items she would need. She took a quill and parchment from one of
my messengers and made a list in a careful and precise handwriting. The messenger
looked on in awe at my young slave. I doubt he'd ever seen one that could
write before.

Gabrielle looked up at me.
"My Lord, we will need dinars for some herbs and fresh food."

I nodded and walked out of
the house, noticing the small crowd of attention we were drawing. I'm sure
the inhabitants of the neighboring houses thought something miraculous was
happening, given that I was there. I grabbed one of my guards and dragged
him into the house, pushing him in front of Gabrielle.

I must say it was amazing to
watch, and had I been less redeemed, I would have taken the girl's head off
for her forward behavior and presumptuous manner. Gabrielle was ordering people
about like·well, like she was me! She looked up at the guard before her.

"Can you read?" she asked.

If any other slave had asked
that question, she would have been scoffed at, or beaten to the ground. My
palace guards were a snobby bunch given their station in the palace, so they
would be just the men to do it, too. On this day, however, we were all too
astounded at the small slave's behavior to question her. The tone of authority
in Gabrielle's voice as she took charge of the scenario simply confounded
them all, myself included.

The guard nodded dumbly, then
added, "Yes, Miss."

"Take this list to the market
and the apothecary and return straightaway with the supplies." She ordered.

The guard took the list and
was about to hurry out the door to do her bidding when he realized, with horror,
who he was taking orders from. He quickly turned to me and I saw the blood
had nearly drained from the young man's face.

"Yes, go, go!" I waved him
off with my hand, trying to make it appear like I agreed with everything Gabrielle
was doing. In truth, I hadn't an inkling.

Gabrielle put two large kettles
on the fire to heat water and I now realized it was my turn. I was feeling
a little useless, so why not heap a little humiliation on top of it, right?

"Um·Gabrielle·what·"
I lowered my voice so no one outside could hear me. "What do you want me to
do?" I could only pray to Athena that I didn't sound as pathetic to her as
I did to my own ears.

"Would you·" she paused
as if she were reconsidering the request. "Would you take the children outside?"
she asked timidly, waiting for my roar, I'm sure.

I arched one eyebrow just about
as high as it would go. I looked at my feet and two young girls stood there,
appearing as if they were looking up a mountain. Neither of them came past
my knees and one smiled broadly up at me. She wrapped her arms around my leg
and laid her cheek against the trouser clad limb. I froze.

"Me?" I said weakly. If I didn't
know better, I would have sworn that Gabrielle smiled just before she turned
back to the fire.

When she turned back my way,
she came closer and whispered under her breath. "I need to bathe her and remove
the soiled linen and clothes, My Lord. The children shouldn't see that."

She calmly waited for my decision
and I even thought about grabbing one of the palace guards, and forcing them
to play babysitter. Two things stopped me. One, I have never, in my entire
life, asked a soldier to do something that I myself was unwilling or unable
to do. Secondly, there was the tiny girl with her arms still wrapped tightly
around my leg. I was amazed that something so small could frighten me so completely.
She looked at me in a way I have never been gazed upon before. She had no
idea, no preconceived notions of who I was or what I was capable of, no knowledge
of what horrible things made up my past. I was looking upon that grain of
sand again and seeing a completely new world.

I sighed and gave my best smirk
to Gabrielle. I bent down and scooped the larger girl up into my arms. I didn't
have to reach down for the other one. She wrapped herself around my leg and
when I tried to walk, it was as if my leg was immobilized. I limped toward
the door with my charges.

"Come on, Boy," I called to
Petra, as I limped through the doorway.

I could only hope that one
of my officers didn't pass by. If anyone like Atrius saw me in this position,
I would have to run him through. I hate to lose good soldiers that way.